Ibutilide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Ibutilide is an antiarrhythmic sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names, for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Antiarrhythmic
- Treats
- Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter
- Available as
- Injectable
- Sold as
- 2 products — Ibutilide Fumarate and Corvert
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- Boxed warning
- Boxed warning
How ibutilide is dosed
From the FDA label for Corvert (application NDA020491). Other ibutilide products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
The recommended dose based on controlled trials (see CLINICAL STUDIES ) is outlined in the Table below. Ibutilide infusion should be stopped as soon as the presenting arrhythmia is terminated or in the event of sustained or nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, or marked prolongation of QT or QTc. Recommended Dose of CORVERT Injection Patient Weight Initial Infusion (over 10 minutes) Second Infusion 60 kg (132 lb) or more One vial (1 mg ibutilide fumarate) If the arrhythmia does not terminate within 10 minutes after the end of the initial infusion, a second 10-minute infusion of equal strength may be administered 10 minutes after completion of the first infusion. Less than 60 kg (132 lb) 0.1 mL/kg (0.01 mg/kg ibutilide fumarate) In a trial comparing ibutilide and sotalol (see CLINICAL STUDIES ), 2 mg ibutilide fumarate administered as a single infusion to patients weighing more than 60 kg was also effective in terminating atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. In the post-cardiac surgery study (see CLINICAL STUDIES ), one or two intravenous infusions of 0.5 mg (0.005 mg/kg per dose for patients weighing less than 60 kg) was effective in terminating atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. Patients should be observed with continuous ECG monitoring for at least 4 hours following infusion or until QTc has returned to baseline. Longer monitoring is required if any arrhythmic…
Ibutilide side effects
CORVERT Injection was generally well tolerated in clinical trials. Of the 586 patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter who received CORVERT in phase II/III studies, 149 (25%) reported medical events related to the cardiovascular system, including sustained polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (1.7%) and nonsustained polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (2.7%). Other clinically important adverse events with an uncertain relationship to CORVERT include the following (0.2% represents one patient): sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (0.2%), nonsustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (4.9%), AV block (1.5%), bundle branch block (1.9%), ventricular extrasystoles (5.1%), supraventricular extrasystoles (0.9%), hypotension/postural hypotension (2.0%), bradycardia/sinus bradycardia (1.2%), nodal arrhythmia (0.7%), congestive heart failure (0.5%), tachycardia/sinus tachycardia/supraventricular tachycardia (2.7%), idioventricular rhythm (0.2%), syncope (0.3%), and renal failure (0.3%). The incidence of these events, except for syncope, was greater in the group treated with CORVERT than in the placebo group. Another adverse reaction that may be associated with the administration of CORVERT was nausea, which occurred with a frequency greater than 1% more in ibutilide-treated patients than those treated with placebo. The medical events reported for more than 1% of…
Who shouldn’t take ibutilide
CORVERT Injection is contraindicated in patients who have previously demonstrated hypersensitivity to ibutilide fumarate or any of the other product components.
Ibutilide drug interactions
No specific pharmacokinetic or other formal drug interaction studies were conducted. Digoxin: Supraventricular arrhythmias may mask the cardiotoxicity associated with excessive digoxin levels. Therefore, it is advisable to be particularly cautious in patients whose plasma digoxin levels are above or suspected to be above the usual therapeutic range. Coadministration of digoxin did not have effects on either the safety or efficacy of ibutilide in the clinical trials. Calcium channel blocking agents: Coadministration of calcium channel blockers did not have any effect on either the safety or efficacy of ibutilide in the clinical trials. Beta-adrenergic blocking agents: Coadministration of beta-adrenergic blocking agents did not have any effect on either the safety or efficacy of ibutilide in the clinical trials.
Every ibutilide product we track (2)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | 64/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → |
How long ibutilide keeps
The date on a sealed pack is not the only one: some ibutilide labels start a second clock once the product is opened or mixed, as short as 24 hours.
Does ibutilide expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labelsWhat people report to the FDA about ibutilide
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 12 reports naming ibutilide, and the FDA flagged 92% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- electrocardiogram qt prolonged3 reports
- atrial fibrillation2 reports
- hypotension2 reports
- neutropenia2 reports
- renal failure2 reports
- torsade de pointes2 reports
- ventricular tachycardia2 reports
- breast cancer metastatic1 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean ibutilide caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is ibutilide?
CORVERT Injection (ibutilide fumarate injection) is an antiarrhythmic drug with predominantly class III (cardiac action potential prolongation) properties according to the Vaughan Williams Classification. Each milliliter of CORVERT Injection contains 0.1 mg of ibutilide fumarate (equivalent to 0.087 mg ibutilide free base), 0.189 mg sodium acetate trihydrate, 8.90 mg sodium chloride, hydrochloric acid to adjust pH to approximately 4.6, and Water for Injection. CORVERT Injection is an isotonic, clear, colorless, sterile aqueous solution. Ibutilide fumarate has one chiral center, and exists as a racemate of the (+) and (−) enantiomers.
What kind of drug is ibutilide?
The FDA classifies ibutilide as an antiarrhythmic. Antiarrhythmics steady an irregular heartbeat by controlling the flow of sodium, potassium, or calcium ions through heart-cell channels (or blunting adrenaline's effect), which slows or normalizes the heart's electrical signals so it beats in a more regular rhythm. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.
Can you take ibutilide with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run ibutilide against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is ibutilide sold under?
We track 2 ibutilide-containing products in the U.S.: Ibutilide Fumarate and Corvert. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does ibutilide come in?
Across the brands we track, ibutilide is currently marketed as injectable, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic ibutilide?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic ibutilide product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Ibutilide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/ibutilide
- MLA
- “Ibutilide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/ibutilide.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for ibutilide on DailyMed (NIH) ↗ — including its boxed warning in full.